how do you tell tire tread??

[03graystone]

im sure its somewhere easy to find, but i want to know how to tell how much tread is left on a tire using the fraction thingy lol. for example, a guy has tires for sale that he claims have 6/32nd depth. how do i calculate how much percent is left? thanks.

oh by the way he is selling Continental Sportcontact 2 tires, which specs are as follows: Treadwear 280, Traction A, Temp A

[03graystone]

better yet, tell me if this is a good deal:

(4 tires), A set of used tires, 225 40 ZR 18 Pirelli P-Zero Rosso. Treadwear 220, Traction AA, Temp A. Imports from

Germany. These tires are not dry or uneven wear with nice shoulders. The shipment is 90.00 in the lower 48 states.

5/32ND tread depth.

These tires are above the bar, Some tread left.

$140 buy it now with $90 shipping

[cardude007617]

well a set of tires for 140 bucks is a good deal.

[bballr4567]

Both of those tires have very very high wear. Im betting they have maybe 20-30% tread life left which might last 4000 miles.

EDIT: Also why are you trying for 225 tires still??? 235 are perfect for out cars. Check this link.

http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html

[03graystone]

im looking for 225/40 because your wheels look fine, they are flat faced. my wheels are gonna have a lip, so they already look kinda smaller, and i dont want the tire to look like its too thick. your wheels look fine, but im worried about the looks on a wheel like mine. maybe i shouldnt worry lol but anywho, i am still shopin around so ill see what i find out.

[tenspeed]

I wouldn't consider them a great deal. It's $300 after shipping and mounting/balance. I'd try for something with a little more tread.

Check out this site. They sell used tires and explain a lot. I have gotten winter tires from them. http://www.bordertire.com/

[03graystone]

i will check them out thanks

[bballr4567]

Originally posted by 03graystone
im looking for 225/40 because your wheels look fine, they are flat faced. my wheels are gonna have a lip, so they already look kinda smaller, and i dont want the tire to look like its too thick. your wheels look fine, but im worried about the looks on a wheel like mine. maybe i shouldnt worry lol but anywho, i am still shopin around so ill see what i find out. Nobody will ever notice the difference and your speedo will be for the most part correct. Trust me I know the look you are trying for and its just plain stupid. Add that tiny amount of sidewall and protect your rims a little more.

[03graystone]

nah i think i know what look you think im goin for, i dont really want that. i looked at my current 18s and i know what u mean, how the 18x8 will stretch the 225s. now that im thinkin about it i know exactly what you mean. im gonna look around for the 235s. and if i dont find any i will buy new.

[bballr4567]

Good good graystone. lol

[bkozlowski]

alright... after working for firestone for 3 years i've learned a little about tires and the ones that you found are a horrible deal. 5/32 of tread is way down there in tread life. if that car came into our shop we would be recommending that they buy tires. and when he says they're above the bar, he's saying that it's above what's called a wear bar, and every single tire has them, it's inbetween the tread grooves, that wear bar is 2/32 of tread, and basically if you have 4 or less 32 you wont go anywhere in rain. another thing is that no passenger car tire comes with 32/32 of tread, most come with 10-12/32 of tread. for my 18's i bought the 225/40/18 Fuzion ZR-I tires and they came with 10/32 of tread brand new. and while we're on that i would recommend you buy the 245 instead of the 225 because i wish i would have. i have an 18/8 american racing wheel and that 225 is just not wide enough for that wheel even though that's what the manufacturers recommended i put on my car. the tire just looks not wide enough for that wheel, it's stretched and when i need to buy tires i'm going with the 245's to actually make it look like my wheels are 8" wide instead of looking like their 7" wide cause of my tires that are too skinny for the wheels.

[03graystone]

thanks man, yeah i am totally bought on NOT getting 225s lol. thanx

[Nighthawk243]

Its generally reccommended that you go for new tires anyways. With the new ones, you know that they havn't been abused. With used tires, you could've bought them off of some guy who liked to do burnouts.